The absolute worst captain in Star Trek

[USS Excelsior]

That faux Captain from the Valiant with that bitchy first officer.

 

[The Wormhole]

That faux Captain from the Valiant with that bitchy first officer.

To be fair, he wasn't really an actual captain. Just a cadet who got thrown in command because all his supervising officers were killed. Granted, he was stupid enough to get his crew killed on a half-baked plan to take out a Dominion uber-battleship using strategies from the Star Wars movies when really, he should have just gone home and given the tactical data over to the experts and let them use strategies from some old WWII movie to take the thing out. But he was a 20 year-old kid posing as a captain, so I can't consider him the worst captain.

Come to think of it, how many Voyager episodes actual required the ship to be "lost" in the delta quadrant? Cerainly a few yes. But the majority would have basically played out the same if the Voyager had been exploring a priviously unknown section of the alpha quadrant.

They rarely made any use of the fact that maque were aboard, Chakotay and BeLanna could have, in most episodes, simply been new to the ship.

The characters backstories the same.

Having to cut through various peoples territories (including the borg's) didn't need to have happen in the delta quad.

Having to stop for repairs and occasionl supplies could have happen to any of the captains if only outside of the boundries federation.

Interesting point. For the most part, I agree. Although, had the ship just been exporing some remote area of the Alpha Quadrant, it would seem odd they didn't have a proper medical staff as opposed to a holograhpic doctor and his assistant. Also, I can't imagine Tom Paris as a con serving time tagging along on such a mission.

Both problems are easy to work around. The doctor could have been human and still act the same way, he'd just be rude and have no social skills instead of being programmed that way. And instead of being a convict, Tom Paris could just be a slacking officer who didn't want to be in Starfleet and the character could have still developed the exact same way he did.

I don't think Tom's character would have developed as it did with Voyager ~70 years from home. His father's shadow would have followed him where ever he went in the AQ. In The DQ, he was finally free of his father and he was able to become the best officer and husband he could. From what I remember Admiral Paris did realize he made mistakes with Tom, perhaps trying to turn Tom into the officer he was at that age; a mold Tom didn't fit. With fathers and sons, sometimes distance, make both realize their mistakes and turns them into better people and helps heal the wounds between them. It helped me and my dad. I ran all the way to Europe to go to school for a full semester and stayed for the full 6 months of my Visa. When I came back he was more accepting that I am gay.

I don't think a human who lacks social skills would be a CMO, but rather a researcher. A good Captain would have had him transferred, and his Starfleet & Medical school records would have pointed that fact out. Unless the CMO was a desk job, he'd be forced off every ship he served on. (IMO Crusher's job as CMO would be mostly desk work. She'd have a staff of around 10 doctors and at least as many nurses and more field medics and assistant CMO who'd be the one dealing with patients. Leaving Crusher free to evaluate her staff and make reports and help with difficult diagnosis' and dealing with the Captain and XO. Kinda like Cuddy, except she wouldn't be looking for funding but supplies.)

Well, maybe they'd have to be tweaked a bit. EG, maybe the Doctor recentally had been under some form of stress that made him such an irritable bastard. Maybe Tom Paris would be a bit harder to do, but I'm certain it wouldn't be impossible.

 

[Vanyel]

That faux Captain from the Valiant with that bitchy first officer.

To be fair, he wasn't really an actual captain. Just a cadet who got thrown in command because all his supervising officers were killed. Granted, he was stupid enough to get his crew killed on a half-baked plan to take out a Dominion uber-battleship using strategies from the Star Wars movies when really, he should have just gone home and given the tactical data over to the experts and let them use strategies from some old WWII movie to take the thing out. But he was a 20 year-old kid posing as a captain, so I can't consider him the worst captain.

Interesting point. For the most part, I agree. Although, had the ship just been exporing some remote area of the Alpha Quadrant, it would seem odd they didn't have a proper medical staff as opposed to a holograhpic doctor and his assistant. Also, I can't imagine Tom Paris as a con serving time tagging along on such a mission.

Both problems are easy to work around. The doctor could have been human and still act the same way, he'd just be rude and have no social skills instead of being programmed that way. And instead of being a convict, Tom Paris could just be a slacking officer who didn't want to be in Starfleet and the character could have still developed the exact same way he did.

I don't think Tom's character would have developed as it did with Voyager ~70 years from home. His father's shadow would have followed him where ever he went in the AQ. In The DQ, he was finally free of his father and he was able to become the best officer and husband he could. From what I remember Admiral Paris did realize he made mistakes with Tom, perhaps trying to turn Tom into the officer he was at that age; a mold Tom didn't fit. With fathers and sons, sometimes distance, make both realize their mistakes and turns them into better people and helps heal the wounds between them. It helped me and my dad. I ran all the way to Europe to go to school for a full semester and stayed for the full 6 months of my Visa. When I came back he was more accepting that I am gay.

I don't think a human who lacks social skills would be a CMO, but rather a researcher. A good Captain would have had him transferred, and his Starfleet & Medical school records would have pointed that fact out. Unless the CMO was a desk job, he'd be forced off every ship he served on. (IMO Crusher's job as CMO would be mostly desk work. She'd have a staff of around 10 doctors and at least as many nurses and more field medics and assistant CMO who'd be the one dealing with patients. Leaving Crusher free to evaluate her staff and make reports and help with difficult diagnosis' and dealing with the Captain and XO. Kinda like Cuddy, except she wouldn't be looking for funding but supplies.)

Well, maybe they'd have to be tweaked a bit. EG, maybe the Doctor recentally had been under some form of stress that made him such an irritable bastard. Maybe Tom Paris would be a bit harder to do, but I'm certain it wouldn't be impossible.

Again a doctor under stress, even a recent stress that caused change in personality would get him/her off a starship. A CMO with a bad attitude just would not survive, and would be sent back to Starfleet Medical for therapy. A ship the size of Voyager seems to need only 1 doctor and a nurse or three, and if that doctor is human with a bad attitude, I'd be calling up the EMH instead.

No matter what you do to Tom, unless he's no longer Tom, would mean he'd need to be far away from his father and his father's influence.

 

[The Wormhole]

Maybe if a doctor was really good at his job, they'd keep him regardless his attitude?

Yeah, I know I'm stretching things now. I'm just stubborn and refuse to give up.

 

[Deckerd]

That faux Captain from the Valiant with that bitchy first officer.

I said that on page 1 or 2.

 

[Trevacious]

Styles in Star Trek III, everything about him screams dumbass.

He walked around with a Swagger Stick!

 

[Paradon]

Kate Mulgrew would have played a charismatic leader, but how they portrayed Janeway was horrible.

 

[T'Girl]

Oh, I don't know. Portraying Janeway as possibly being psychologically "uneven" makes the character interesting.

 

[Anwar]

And no one complains that the leads in other shows similar to VOY (Farscape, LEXX, NuBSG) had less-than-stable characterizations either.

 

[SilentP]

And no one complains that the leads in other shows similar to VOY (Farscape, LEXX, NuBSG) had less-than-stable characterizations either.

Well in Farscape (it's been a while since I watched that show), they're not a formally organized or trained crew, just a batch of randomers who got thrown together. You could counter with Claudia Black's character being an actual military officer, and the Maquis members of Voyager, but for the most part, Voyager was still meant to be a ship of proffessionals.

Haven't watched LEXX, so can't comment.

NuBSG, well we could argue competiting scales of catastrophes and how'd they'd affect people, being a lone ship far away from home (that is still there) compared to a ship where there is no home anymore isn't quite the same level of mental trauma.

Though then again, I think it was safer to potray slightly unhinged characters in nuBSG, since they didn't have any recent character 'archetypes' (not sure if stereotypes is too strong a word here) to go against. To elaborate, a batch of overly unbalanced Starfleet officers all on one ship would seem odd when watched in comparison to (at the time) recent series like DS9 and TNG, unless mention was made early on that the series that Voyager was some kind of 'dumping' ground for middling officers and crewmen.

 

[Paradon]

I thought we're talking about ST and this is ST forum? Who's else is there to talk about?? [chuckle]

 

[Satyrquaze]

Oh, I don't know. Portraying Janeway as possibly being psychologically "uneven" makes the character interesting.

Captain Ahab was interesting, doesn't make him a good captain.

 

[KirksStuntMan]

Captain Kevin Thomas RIley, from TOS episode "The Naked Time", but it wasn't really his fault that he was acting strange because he was infected with the alien virus. Too bad, because his idea about a bowling alley on the Enterprise was pretty novel.

 

[RaymondJames]

Well, If you don't mind literature being open range then my vote is for Captain William T Riker. He made a hell of an XO but in the Titan series, a poor CO.

 

[Stoek]

Personally I stand firm with Commander Riker and his assessment of Jellico ...

You are arrogant and closed-minded. You need to control everything and everyone. You don't provide an atmosphere of trust, and you don't inspire these people to go out of their way for you. You've get everybody wound up so tight there's no joy in anything. I don't think you're a particularly good Captain.

 

[Gary7]

^ I'm glad you quoted that. I think Riker pretty much summed up Jellico to a "T". He may have been effective dealing with the Cardassians, but this other crucial aspect is a big issue... I'd never want to be in his chain of command.

 

[Gov Kodos]

I thought Riker was a jackass in that episode. Jellico rules.

 

[The Wormhole]

Thing about Jellico is, he's realistic. A captain can't be everyone's friend, and in the end results are the only thing that really matters.

 

[Edit_XYZ]

Personally I stand firm with Commander Riker and his assessment of Jellico ...

You are arrogant and closed-minded. You need to control everything and everyone. You don't provide an atmosphere of trust, and you don't inspire these people to go out of their way for you. You've get everybody wound up so tight there's no joy in anything. I don't think you're a particularly good Captain.

In that episode Jellico solved the cardassian problem - he showed that the federation had more value to him than his pride by begging Riker to do his duty.
Riker, on the other hand, was ready to commit treason - by not piloting the shuttle and ending an imminent cardassian attack on the federation - just because he was butthurt due to Jellico bruising his ego.

Jellico proved to be a FAR better man - and captain - than Riker.

 

[sonak]

I thought Riker was a jackass in that episode. Jellico rules.

the first part of that is true. The second part not so much. It's not an either/or thing. Both of them are in the wrong in COC. Jellico's rigid and inflexible, and seems to care nothing for the morale of his crew, which is a BAD quality for a CO.

Riker however should not be opposing him every step of the way, as he seems to do in the episodes. As XO, he's supposed to make things easier for Jellico, not act like a spoiled child who misses his mommy.